Maplehurst Academy
by StandoffRR
Summary: Middle schoolers take their entire school hostage during an assembly. The case hits home when one of HRT's relatives was in attendance. A Round Robin brought to you by the folks at the FOX boards! Please review! Matt and Emily obviously, Duff and Lia
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Okay, here's the first chapter in our round robin. The only thing I'm adding that was never officially mentioned was Frank's kid. I'm going off of the part in "Peer Group" where he said, "Remind me to send my kids to private school." I like the idea of Frank having a young daughter, I think he'd be a good father. shrugs Also, where I lived in California, we had schools that were K-8th grade. For this to work, that's what we're looking at… Here ya go:) There's also a heavy fluff-warning for the first chapter! Thanks to Arwen for the cat… She'll know what I mean :)

Chapter One:

by: Memily

(6:29 am- Matt's place)

Matt opened his eyes slowly as Emily stirred beside him. He grinned as he caught her resetting the alarm in order to spend that extra fifteen minutes beside him. She slipped back into his arms and Matt's lips made a beeline for her shoulder.

"Good morning, beautiful," he murmured.

"Good morning…" Emily moaned softly. She rolled over and buried her face in his chest. After a few minutes, she looked up and returned his kiss.

"Should we call in sick?" he asked, only half jokingly.

"No, Cheryl would never buy that," Emily pointed out, looking at the clock.

"You know," Matt said with a grin, "We spent too long lying here, there's not enough time for both of us to shower…"

"But, if we were to shower together…" Emily finished.

"Exactly!" Matt slid out of bed and paused at the door, "You coming?"

"Yeah, I'll be there in a second," Emily promised.

(7:00 am- Lia's apartment)

Lia grinned as she quietly slipped the key into the lock. She opened the door quickly so it wouldn't squeak as loud.

"Hey Biscuit," Lia whispered, bending over to pet the small red cat. She took a few quiet steps toward her room, hoping not to wake her roommate, Chloe.

"You didn't come home last night!" Chloe accused from the kitchen table.

"Guess not," Lia made her way to her room to change.

Chloe paused in the doorway and gave Biscuit a small shove with her foot. The cat mewed pitifully and jumped onto Lia's bed, attacking her pillow with its claws. "No. You can't sneak in here at 7 in the morning and not tell me everything!" Chloe flopped next to the cat, waiting for details.

"That guy from work I told you about…" Lia grabbed a pair of khakis from her closet and a purple blouse.

"Duff, right?"

"Uh-huh."

"And you spent the night at his place?"

"Uh-huh."

"How many dates was this?" Chloe teased.

"Enough," Lia murmured, pulling her hair into a ponytail.

"Since when have you been shy?" Chloe sighed, realizing Lia wasn't going to tell her anything else.

Lia shrugged, "Nothing happened. I promise. I have to get to work a little early. We'll talk later."

"Later? Lia, you don't come home, and you try to tell me nothing happened?"

"Nothing did!" Lia insisted, shutting the door behind her.

(8:30 am- FBI Building-20th floor)

"Flannery, Lehman. Conference room. Now!" Cheryl ordered, passing their desks on the way to the conference room. Emily gave Matt a smile, feeling an immediate adrenaline rush. They followed Cheryl and took a seat around the big table, waiting for tactical.

Minutes later, Temple and Binder hurried into to conference room, followed by Lia, Duff and Frank.

Cheryl sighed and pulled Frank outside, "Frank, I need you to wait in my office."

"What? Why? Duff said we had a situation."

"We do. And I need you to wait in my office. I'll only be a few minutes."

"Cheryl…"

"Frank. Please." Cheryl said firmly, leaving no room for discussion. Cheryl turned and headed back into the conference room.

"Listen up! We have a huge situation on hand."

"How many hostages?" Emily asked.

"About 300," Cheryl answered, "Five 8th graders walked into an assembly at Maplehurst Academy and pulled out guns. The entire school was in attendance."

"Maplehurst? Isn't that where Frank's daughter goes?" Duff asked.

"Yes. Which is why he isn't here," Cheryl said.

Duff scoffed, "So much for private schools…"

"I need you all to play nice and work together. We need to get _everyone_ out alive. Understood?" Everyone nodded and stood up, "I'll meet you guys there. Good luck. Oh, and Duff? While Frank's gone…"

Duff grinned, "I'm the boss."

TBC.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Author: Bullseye1991

Rating: PG-13

(8:35 am-FBI building-20th floor-Cheryl's office)

Frank sat in Cheryl's office tapping his fingers on her desk impatiently. He didn't understand why Cheryl wanted to exclude him from the meeting. That was enough to make even the most hardened Ranger nervous. Several reasons for Cheryl's strange behavior whipped through his head. He tried to clear them from his mind by taking several deep breaths, though they kept coming back stronger.

"Get a hold of yourself," he muttered.

Frank jerked his head around as Cheryl walked in the door. He immediately noticed her stiff posture. Something was wrong.

She walked to her chair calmly, obviously trying to hide the grimness of the situation, whatever that may be.

"Cheryl, what's going on?" Frank tried unsuccessfully to hide the concern in his voice.

"Before I tell you, I need you to promise me that, no matter what, you will obey my orders."

"Cheryl…"

"Frank, promise me," Cheryl commanded.

Frank was loath to make a promise when he didn't even know what was happening, but knew that it was his only option.

He nodded slowly. "Okay, I promise."

"Thank you," she said, looking him in the eye. "Frank, your daughter, Kayla, has been taken hostage. The whole school was in an assembly when the HT's, five eighth graders, came in and pulled guns on them."

"No," Frank whispered.

(8:40 am-FBI building-20th floor-Bullpen)

"Frank isn't going to take this news well," Matt told Emily as the walked back to their desks.

Matt grabbed his leather jacket off of the back of his chair. Emily did the same. She shook her head. "I can't believe this has happened. I feel so bad for Frank."

"Don't let him know that; he hates pity," Matt stated.

"Even the toughest man needs sympathy sometimes."

"If I were you, I'd leave the sympathizing to someone else."

Emily rolled her eyes. "You men are so stubborn."

(8:40 am-FBI building-20th floor- Cheryl's office)

"I'm sorry Frank," Cheryl said.

"No! This can't be happening!" Frank shouted.

Cheryl nodded. "I'm afraid it is."

"And I suppose you expect me to just sit back and wait to see how this goes down?!"

"Yes, that's exactly what I expect you to do."

"I won't! I just can't leave this to everyone else! I won't abandon my daughter!" Frank said stubbornly.

"You won't be abandoning her," Cheryl consoled. "Matt and Emily will do everything they can to get those children out."

"And what if that everything isn't enough? I won't be able to get Kayla and the other children out."

"Duff will be in charge. He's good at what he does." Cheryl didn't like how red Frank's face was turning. It only became that tint when he was ready to kill someone.

"But what if he's not good enough? My daughter's life is in danger, Cheryl! Duff is too new to be in command of HRT." Frank couldn't believe he was trashing Duff like he was, but the instinct to save his child was too strong to ignore.

Cheryl was trying her hardest to remain patient, but Frank's temper was pushing her closer and closer to the edge. "Frank I need you to honor your promise and obey me. It's better for the Kayla."

(8:45 am-Maplehurst Academy Auditorium)

"STAY DOWN!" the eighth grader bellowed.

"Daryl, please don't do this. Think about your future," the vice principal begged. Why, oh why hadn't she taken today off?

"I've thought about it Vice Principal Granger. We all have, isn't that right guys?" He waited for the other four to confirm his claim before carrying on. "See, we wouldn't come unprepared. All of the _wonderful_ teachers here taught us better." His voice dripped with sarcasm.

"Don't move. I mean it," another eighth grader waved his pistol nervously.

Daryl rolled his eyes. "Gosh, Chip, can't you do anything right? This is how you do it: DON'T MOVE, OR I BLOW YOUR BRAINS OUT!"

A young girl-probably a kindergartener-started crying.

Daryl felt a wave of guilt rush over him, but brushed it away quickly. He walked over to her and knelt down. "Honey, be quiet now," he soothed. "I don't want to hurt you."

The girl stifled her tears as best as one her age could.

"Good," Daryl muttered.

(8:45 am-FBI building-20th floor-Cheryl's office)

"What's better for Kayla is me taking care of her," Frank retorted.

Cheryl sighed. "If you were any normal parent, you wouldn't be able to help us. Think of all the other worried adults out there. The last thing they and their children need is someone emotionally involved; someone that could blow at any moment."

"Give me more credit than that, Cheryl. You're making me sound like an HT!" Frank snapped.

"Frank, you know that I couldn't let you help if I wanted to; it's against protocol." Cheryl shook her head.

"To hell with protocol!" Frank exclaimed, standing abruptly.

"Frank, sit down," Cheryl hissed.

Anger blazed in Frank's eyes, but he sat down obediently.

"I'm sorry, Frank."

"Cheryl, please." Frank had resorted to begging. "I need to save my little girl."

Cheryl looked at him with sympathy. "Frank, it's not allowed. You are too emotional to make rational decisions right now."

"Just give me a few minutes to clear my head."

Cheryl felt really bad for her agent, but had to keep the hostages' best interests in mind, as hard as it was. "No, you have to honor your promise and stay here."

TBC


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

By: Orion775

- -

Kayla Rogers crouched on the smooth, hard blonde wood of the gymnasium floor. Her 7-year old knees hurt; her blue plaid jumper wasn't long enough to pull over them to keep them from crushing against the hard surface. Hot tears threatened to blur her vision. Blinking rapidly she tried to keep them at bay. She didn't want the big boy with the black gun to notice her. If she lay completely still, maybe he wouldn't notice her.

Kayla thought of her father. Daddy would know what to do. No matter how terrible the situation, he was always calm.

Ten minutes went by. Kayla tried to stay as still as she could. But, she was having trouble breathing. 300 panicked bodies had made the room stiflingly hot, the air had become oppressive. Kayla's throat was constricting. She could feel her breath whistling through it like the wind through dry reeds. No…. no….. not now….. she couldn't have an attack now. Kayla bit her lip as she thought of her inhaler, sitting in her coat pocket, back in her classroom.

- -

Matt steered the speeding SUV off of Highway 2 onto Verdugo Boulevard. Maplehurst Academy was located in the normally placid suburb of Glendale. While Glendale wasn't exactly Beverly Hills, it was a safe, family-friendly community. Mini-vans, soccer moms, and trim, well-cared for homes. Serious crimes were aberrant, not an everyday experience.

Sitting next to Matt in the passenger seat Emily was evaluating the Intel on the HT's.

"Ok- we have 5 eighth graders: Daryl Stevens, Christopher "Chip" Hanley, Scott Meiers, Michael Olson, and Seth Serio. All 8th graders. Scott, Seth and Michael all attend Maplehurst, all three of them called in sick today... Chip attended here from kindergarten to seventh grade, switched to Our Savior's last year. Daryl Stevens USED to attend here, but was suspended last month." Emily looked up at Matt. He couldn't see her eyes behind the shiny silver aviator sunglasses.

"Why was he suspended?" Matt asked, stealing a glance her way.

"That's what we need to find out. This could be our alpha-male" she said tapping her chin with her hand.

As they rounded the corner, both negotiators saw a stately, two-story red-brick building. It reminded Emily of the prep schools that were so prevalent on the East Coast. The circular driveway was lined with tall, serene Western Maple trees that cast irregular shadows on the parked police cruisers that filled the lot, light bars silently flashing.

Matt felt the familiar metallic taste of adrenaline in his mouth as he pulled the SUV to a halt. Wrenching his headset out of his pocket he saw Frank's agonized face rise in his mind's eye. Frank was one of his closest friends. Matt remembered the day Kayla had been born. He knew the perky 7-year old with the freckles and missing teeth meant more to Frank than anything in the world. No matter what, he and Emily could not fail. Not this time.

- -

"Frank, you can listen, but I can't let you do anything else, you know that" Lia's doe eyes met Frank's steely gaze. Lia was very by the book, it was part of what made her exceptional at her job. Still, her heart sank for him. She couldn't begin to imagine how he was feeling. Within minutes she had seen him seethe with anger, a moment later, he was awash with panic and desperation. She had to help him somehow. "I'm not supposed to let you even listen in" Lia placed a gentle hand on Frank's arm, "but I will." Lia connected Frank's wireless headset, so he could hear what was happening.

Wordlessly, Frank sat down, jaw set, eyes flashing with anger, to listen in as his team reached the location.

- -

"I TOLD YOU TO FUCKING SHUT THE HELL UP OR I'D SHOOT!!! DID YOU THINK I WASN'T SERIOIUS??? WHY DOESN'T ANYBODY LISTEN TO ME?????????"

His mind had pulled loose of its moorings. Daryl felt strangely calm as he pulled the trigger of the gun.


End file.
